Consequences of Love
by Yin and Yang
Summary: This is a fic of how Lily and James get together when they hated each other! Also, Sirius finds a special someone, and Remus finds a friend that would never let him down...
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: Hi, everyone

Author's Note: Hi, everyone! It'sDevils Angeland Rachie.V.!! We decided to write a fic together!! It's an MWPP/L (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs and Lily) fic, with an exclusion of Wormtail (DA: Coz he's a loser!!). It's based on James and Lily's getting together, when they hate each other! So cliché, we know. But, we're included in the story! (DA: God help us all.) Only, we're known as Ellie and Rachel. (Ellie= Devils Angel, Rachel= Rachie.V.) When you've finished reading this insane piece of literature, make sure you review!!

~ Devils Angel

~ Rachie.V.

~*~*~*~*~ 

Rachie.V.: "Honestly, you two, you'd think that the Head Boy and Head Girl would be able to get along! But ohhhhh no, not Lily Evans and James Potter!" Sirius sighed, watching an argument break out between Lily and James for the third time that day. Rachel, Remus and Ellie laughed as he put his face in his hands.

They were on the Hogwarts Express and were about to start their seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. James and Lily had been appointed Head Boy and Girl, but weren't acting like it at that moment.

"…So what if I call you 'Potty'?"

"It annoys me, Redhead!"

"I only call you that because you call me 'Redhead'!"

"I only call you that because you bug me!!"

"Well, _you bug __me!"_

"I found that out ages ago! I'm surprised they let a Redhead be the Head Girl, as Redheads are plain stupid!"

"I am _not stupid! I passed my Charms test with 300%! What did __you get for Charms?"_

"Over average! What did _you get for Transfiguration? I got 300%!"_

"Over average!"

"Oh my gosh, that is sooo surprising. The way you tried to turn a turtle into a feather was pathetic! You barely did anything to it!"

"Well, you couldn't even make your quill flash different colours! I could do that in my second year!"

"But I still made my desk fly around the room. And I passed the test!"

"You know what, Potter?"

"What, Evans?"

"I HATE YOU!"

"I LOATHE YOU!"

"WELL-"

"_ENOUGH! STOP IT, RIGHT NOW!" Ellie, Remus, Sirius and Rachel yelled at the same time. Lily and James fell silent and looked at their feet in shame. Remus noticed faces at their compartment door; the whole train had probably heard the dispute._

Devils Angel: "Oh, go away!" said Sirius, opening and shutting the compartment door on everyone's fingers.

"OW!" yelled the owners of the fingers.

Before Lily and James could deep-fry each other until they were golden and crispy, the trolley lady arrived with all sorts of goodies on her tray. Sirius popped Chocolate Frogs into James and Lily's mouths. "Now shut up and eat," he said.

Rachel laughed. "You're funny."

"I try," grinned Sirius, sliding his arm around her to her happy surprise.

James and Lily chomped ferociously on the chocolate, while glaring at each other. "Sheesh, by the end of this year they'll be strangling each other," muttered Ellie, while popping a Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean in her mouth. Immediately, she coughed and spat it out. "Gross!" she yelled. "It was dirt!"

"Ha ha, I got chocolate éclair," smirked Remus.

"But last year you got dragon ma-"

Remus gagged while the others laughed. 

The compartment door opened suddenly. "Speaking of dragon manure…" muttered Rachel.

"Well well well, if it isn't Potty and the Redhead!" smirked Severus Snape.

Lucius Malfoy, his best friend, sneered along with him. "And their dorky friends Whack, Loony, Smelly and Ridiculous!"

James jumped up and got ready to punch them both in the nose. But Lily beat him to it. "I'm going to punch them!" snapped James.

"No, I am!" protested Lily.

"I am!" 

"I am!"

"I am!"

Sirius got up and punched Snape and Malfoy himself. "Owwww!" they yelled, clutching their bleeding noses, and ran back to their compartment.

Rachel sighed. "James, Lily, will you two _please stop fighting!"_

"Yeah, it's giving me a headache," said Remus.

Before they could say anything, the train screeched to a halt. "Aaaaaaagh!" they all screamed as James and Lily fell onto them. 

"You clumsy girl!"

"You stupid git!"

This was going to be a very interesting year. 

Rachie.V.: They scrambled over Lily and James and tumbled out the door into a crowded platform. A loud thunderstorm was clapping its way across the sky, and Lily and James had settled down enough to sit in the same carriage together. After a minute of trundling along the muddy pathway, they scampered up the stone steps and into the safety of the Entrance Hall. Ellie shook the rain out of her dark brown hair, while Rachel and Sirius were arguing over the best Quidditch team. They took their places at the Gryffindor table, laughing at Snape and Malfoy, who were grumbling about Sirius hitting them.

Professor McGonagall entered the Hall with the new first years, the stool and the Sorting Hat. After the slow Sorting, they listened to Dumbledore give out the speeches. Finally, the long-awaited feast arrived, and they dug in. Remus and Ellie talked about classes, their cutlery clinking softly, Sirius and Rachel were having a food-eating contest (Sirius ended up winning by a mile), and Lily and James sniped at each other. After a particular moment when Lily hit James around the back of the head, Sirius and Rachel, who had burst out laughing, sprayed food over the table. Remus and Ellie groaned and put their faces into their hands, the other students chuckled, and the first years became alarmed.

The feast ended, and they trudged up the marble staircase to their dormitories, but when they got there, water balloons rained over the students. Sirius sniggered, and Rachel narrowed her eyes at him.

"Did you do that?" she demanded. Sirius stopped laughing and nodded. "GOOD ONE!" Rachel yelled, and started laughing, too. Lily and James didn't find it amusing, though. Soaked from head to foot, they thought the other had pulled the prank, not noticing Rachel and Sirius, who were roaring with laughter and leaned on each other for support. Without a word, the Head Boy and Girl glared daggers at each other, then stormed to their separate dorms. Rachel waved to Sirius, who grinned back, and they went to their dorms. Ellie and Remus looked flabbergasted. But they, too, went to bed, feeling full.

Devils Angel: Remus awoke to the sound of yelling. He trudged tiredly downstairs to the common room. "What's going on?" he asked Ellie.

"James and Lily are having a fight again," she replied. "And Sirius's refereeing."

Sirius had even conjured up a whistle. "Round 3 of the Lily and James fight is about to begin," he said in an announcer voice. 

Lily opened her mouth to yell just as Sirius blew the whistle. "How dare you leave a frog in my bed!" she screamed.

Ellie giggled quietly. It was hilarious. Lily had woken up and found a frog sitting on her stomach. She had run around screaming trying to get it off.

"You deserved it!" yelled James. 

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"Because you filled my pillowcase with cockroaches!"

The four of them wearily watched the two of them yelling, until Remus said quietly, "I think we'd better go down to breakfast."

They stopped yelling. 

"Breakfast?" asked James.

Within three minutes, they were all down in the Great Hall eating fried eggs and bacon. Rachel inspected the timetable. "Oh NO!" she squealed.

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius.

"We've got double potions!"

They all groaned. 

The pairing for Potions was different this year. Sirius would usually go with James, Remus with Lily and Ellie and Rachel together. This time, however, it was Sirius and Rachel and Ellie Remus together. Which only left…

"Potter, Evans, seems you're working together," snarled Professor Verte (the potions master). "What an odd couple."

The Slytherins laughed while Lily and James groaned. That day, they were making a Growing Potion. "Black, stir it more, a little more, a little more… too much, start again!" snapped Verte. "Miss Ellie, you seemed to have forgotten the dragon eyes. Remember to include it next time. Oh, what the heck, ten points off Gryffindor!"

"Go jump up a dragon's bum," muttered Sirius.

Rachel giggled and tried to disguise it as a coughing fit. Professor Verte gave her a suspicious look. 

Ellie muttered a whole lot of profanity under her breath about Snape and threw the dragon eyes in with such a force that potion splashed on Malfoy, whose swollen-already nose started to grow. Remus punched Ellie on the arm and whispered, "Suits him, don't ya think!"

As usual, James and Lily were arguing over the potion, failing to notice that it was burning.

"You had to make it green, you dumb idiot!!" yelled Lily.

"No, it has to be purple and lumpy!!" screamed James.

"I think if they drank the potion, their tempers would just grow," whispered Sirius to Rachel.

Rachie.V.:After a lot of grumbling and arguing, another Potions lesson was over. Then it was Charms. Lily got top marks, with Rachel close behind, as usual, and then it was time for Transfiguration. James got the top marks, with Sirius close behind – as usual. They flopped down into the common room chairs just before lunch. Lily and James glared at each other, each sitting on the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, Remus got up, put his hands in his pockets and walked over to the message board. He let out a whoop. Rachel raised her eyebrows, Sirius made a face, Lily and James continued glaring and Ellie got up and walked over to Remus.

"What's up?" she asked gently.

"Hogsmeade weekend in a week!" Remus replied, his eyes shining.

"YAY!" Rachel cheered.

"WOOHOO!" Sirius yelled.

Lily shouted at James to stop touching her book. James hollered back in protest.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Don't you two _EVER stop arguing?" Rachel cried, stomping her foot. She walked over to Lily, pulled her up and dragged her out the common room. Sirius followed suit, dragging James out. Ellie and Remus looked at each other, shrugged and pulled up a seat and a book each, and began to read._

Rachel dragged Lily into an empty classroom, followed by Sirius and James. Rachel and Sirius pushed Lily and James into a couple of chairs. Lily and James got ready for a lecture, but got more than they bargained for.

"That's it, you two," Rachel said, "I've had it up to here – " she raised her hand above her head " – with your petty arguing!"

"She's right, you know. I think – " Sirius was interrupted.

"Get a life, _both of you! All that arguing makes you look like little children!"_

For once, Sirius didn't make a joke, and turned serious.

"Rachel, I agree. I mean, Lily, I know that you have more brains than to argue that much, and James, I thought you didn't like wasting time when you could be practicing Quidditch! For God's sake, you guys are the _Head Boy and Girl!"_

"So we're gonna keep you in here until you're ready to come out – _peacefully!" Rachel added._

"Yep. And it has to _stay that way, for the rest of the year!"_

"Lily, I need to tell you something, c'mere – " Rachel was about to beckon Lily to a corner of the room, when Sirius yanked Rachel out the door and slammed it shut.

"What did you do that for?" Rachel cried angrily, pulling her arm out of Sirius's grasp. James and Lily stared curiously at the shadows in front of the door. Sirius and Rachel were the ones arguing, this time! They grinned at each other, and crept closer to hear everything.

" – I know you were about to help Lily out of this! You were about to tell her a counter spell to unlock the door, which we were going to lock with the private spell we created, y'know, the one that only _we know of?"_

"I wouldn't do that –"

"Don't lie to me!"

"Sirius, I wasn't – "

Lily and James pressed their ears to the door.

"Oh, please! You promised never to tell anyone about the spell! It was between you and me – no one else!"

"I wasn't going to tell Lily about it! I was going to tell her – "

"Tell her what, huh? _Tell her what?"_

"I was going to tell her that I'd make a bet with you that by the time they come out, she'll have had her first kiss off James!"

"Whatever! You're a liar, Rachel!"

"Don't accuse me of being a liar! You have no proof that I was going to tell Lily about the spell!"

"Rachel, I mean it! Don't lie to me!"

"Why would I? I can't lie to someone I like!" A tear trickled down her cheek. She turned and ran down the corridor, her robes billowing out behind her. Sirius clutched his hair and slid down the wall to the floor, where he sat and tried to control his breathing.

"What've I done?" he whispered. Lily and James stared at each other, then backed away from the door, back to their chairs, where they pretended to argue, so that Sirius wouldn't know they had eavesdropped. Lily bit her lip as she argued. James shrugged, and continued to yell falsely. 

Devils Angel: Sirius sat slumped against the wall, his head resting in his arms, which were balanced on his bent knees. He tried to ignore the chatter of students around him. "What's wrong, Sirius?" simpered Rita Skeeter, who had a massive crush on him.

"Go away," he said, muffled. "All of you."

They all drifted away. "Is there anything I can do, Sirius?" asked Rita quietly.

"NO!" yelled Sirius, his head still in his arms. "GO AWAY!"

Rita burst into noisy tears and fled. Sirius tried not to think. Memories were too painful.

Ever since he'd met her, Sirius had loved Rachel. He tried not to remember when he had first met her, but the memory was like it was just yesterday…

_**Flashback**_

_Sirius opened the compartment door carefully. Inside were two boys and three girls. One of the boys, with black hair and glasses and looked familiar, was arguing with one of the girls who had red hair and green eyes. The other boy was talking to a short Asian girl. They seemed to be good friends._

_But it was the third girl who caught his interest. _

_She was listening to the conversation between the boy and the Asian girl. Her face was smiling and her hair fell gently around her face. Sirius found himself not being able to take his eyes off her._

_"Hi," said Sirius. "Can I sit in here?"_

_The black haired boy grinned and seemed to be happy to finish his argument. "Yeah, sure," he said. "But you wouldn't wanna sit next to Fire head here- hey! SIRIUS!"_

_Sirius grinned. "Hey, James!"_

_James and Sirius had lived next door to each other for two years and had become good friends. Sirius hadn't recognised him because of the newly acquired glasses. "Everyone, this is Sirius, Sirius, this is everyone," said James. "Well actually, that's Fire Head-"_

_"Hey!" yelled the red haired girl. "My name's Lily, by the way. James is just being a dumb arse..."_

_"Are you're not?" muttered James. "Anyways, this is Remus (he pointed to the other boy), Ellie (he pointed to the Asian girl) and Rachel."_

_Rachel was the girl with the honey-brown hair. She smiled at Sirius, which made him blush a bit. "So… are all of you going into First Year?" he asked, casually sitting next to Rachel._

_"Yep," said Rachel in a half British half Australian accent. "I'm guessing you are too?"_

_"Sure are," said Sirius. "I don't think I'll last long though."_

_"Why?" they all asked. _

_Suddenly Sirius thought, Oh help! Rachel's not going to be impressed by a… a… _

_There was a commotion of yellowish smoke outside. It seeped through the bottom of the compartment. _

_"What's that smell?!" cried Lily._

_"Whoever smelt it dealt it!" snapped James._

_"Oh shut up, you two," said Ellie crossly_

_"Well it wasn't me," said everyone else.._

_The compartment door slid open. "Who threw this Dungbomb?" asked a cross trolley lady, holding up a smouldering black ball._

_"None of us here," lied Sirius._

_"All right…" said the trolley lady suspiciously and left._

_Sirius smirked and Rachel tapped him on the shoulder. "Did you do that?" she asked seriously. _

_"Er… yeah," said Sirius sheepishly._

_Rachel cracked up. "That was hilarious! Did you see the look on that trolley lady's face?"_

_They all laughed and began talking again. Sirius turned to Rachel to talk to her and to his surprise, they had many things in common. "So… Rachel… do you play Quidditch?" asked Sirius._

_"Oh yeah, all the time," said Rachel. "I'm the Chaser for London's Under 12 Quidditch Club!"_

_The train screeched to a halt. The six of them stood up, picking up their bags. Before Sirius stepped onto the platform, Rachel whispered in his ear, "By the way, call me Rachie."_

_A happy shiver crawled up Sirius's spine. He would never forget her voice, ever._

_ _

Her voice from that day echoed through his head. He buried his head further into his arms and cried more, small puddles forming on the hard wooden floor.

Lunch was flat; Sirius wasn't there to make jokes and do wacky impressions of Professor Verte. Nobody was talking about the recent events. Nobody was talking, full stop. Rachel ate in silence, tears falling down her flushed face. Ellie and Remus kept giving each other worried looks but said nothing. Even James and Lily had stopped sniping at each other. But deep in their minds, they couldn't help replaying what Rachel had said to Sirius outside of the classroom:_ "I was going to tell her that I'd make a bet with you that by the time they come out, she'll have had her first kiss off James!"_

_Why would I kiss him for, wondered Lily. _

_But why wouldn't you? asked a little voice in her head._

Lily shook her head and continued eating. 

Rachie.V.:A few days later on the weekend, the Gryffindor Common Room had been engulfed in silence. Sirius, James, Lily, Ellie and Remus were either reading or staring at the walls. Nobody else was in there. Rachel was outside by the lake, lying on the grass with jeans and a light blue halter-top on. A pair of headphones (which she had gotten Lily to put a spell on so they would work in the Hogwarts grounds) was plugged into a Discman that she kept by her side on the grass as she quietly sung along to the music, staring at the clouds.

Sirius couldn't keep his eyes off her. He wanted to apologize, but he was scared she wouldn't forgive him.

A voice in Sirius' head was yelling to him,_ "You love her! Apologize! If she really loves you, she'll forgive you! You know she will! Do it…do it…" _

Sirius put his head in his hands. _He couldn't do it. He returned to staring out the window._

~~

James was also having problems. Rachel's voice kept playing through his head as though it was a broken tape recorder.

_"I was going to tell her that I'd make a bet with you that by the time they come out, she'll have had her first kiss off James!"_

Why was this so important to him? He didn't like the Fire Head, she was a ditz! "_But she's cute," a voice mocked.__ "No she isn't__! She's just a conceited Fire Head who doesn't care less about me, or anyone else! But then, she's so pretty… her beautiful eyes, her soft hair…ARGH! NOOOOOOO!!! I'm falling for LILY EVANS__! " James stared at Lily, who was staring at him over the top of an upside down book on Charms. The top of her forehead went magenta._

~~

_"He caught me staring at him! Oh my gosh, why was__ I staring at him? Why do I care?__ LILY EVANS! STOP IT! You hate the slimy idiot! He has a loud mouth, his hair's scruffy, his eyes are handsome, and I love the way his hair flops over his eyes…ARGH!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!! I'm falling for JAMES POTTER__!" Lily was having a silent argument with herself. She and James locked eye contact, and they both blushed. That's when she realized her book was upside down. _

_"Now I've blown it!" Lily groaned inwardly, and turned her book the right way around slowly, while James tried to hide a smile as he looked at his shoes._

~~

_"I'm so worried about Rachel. This is the first time she hasn't been crying for the whole week. I really hope she hasn't decided that she hates Sirius. They seemed so…close, and I think she knows it. I wish I could do something!" Ellie was fretting over her friend. This thing with Sirius and Rachel had gone too far. She got up. _

"Remus, can I talk to you?" she asked her other friend.

~~

_"I'm so worried about Sirius. This is the first time he hasn't been crying for the whole week. I really hope he hasn't decided that he hates Rachel. They seemed so…close, and I think he knows it. I mean, look at the way he's staring at her. I'm sure he feels hurt that she's staring at the clouds, and not him. I wish I could d –" Remus' train of thoughts was interrupted by Ellie._

"Remus, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure thing," he replied. They got up and sat by the portrait hole.

'What's up, Ellie Belly?"

"Don't call me that, you ningle dingle. Anyway, I'm worried about Sirius and Rachel. They've both stopped crying, and now Rachel ignores him, and he just can't stop looking at her! We _have to do something!" They talked for a while, while Lily and James were either having a staring contest or a blushing contest._

_"I like her…"_

_"I like him…"_

_"I HATE HER!"_

_"I HATE HIM!"_

"STOP STARING AT ME, EVANS!"

"STOP STARING AT ME, POTTER!"__

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

"_Stenchilia!"_

Lily soared into the air, while James suddenly got disgusting-smelling green gas erupting from every pore in his body.

"STOP!" Sirius yelled. Lily fell to the floor with a BANG, and the gas and stench floated away. James looked up. Lily stood up. Sirius was breathing heavily.

"I'm sick to death of arguing. I'm sick to death of tears. _I'm sick to death of everything!" And with that, Sirius fled out of the portrait hole, through the corridors and out the double oak doors. James, Lily, Ellie and Remus stared out of the window in wonder as Sirius sprinted towards Rachel. She looked up, pushed the stop button on her Discman and pulled the headphones from her ears. Sirius skidded to a halt._

"Rachel, I – I wanted to apologize for –"

"APOLOGY ACCEPTED!" Rachel cried, and flung her arms around Sirius' neck. "I'm so sorry for being so stupid and not apologizing myself," Rachel sobbed into his shoulder. He gave her a long hug.

"I'm sorry for calling you a liar. I should have trusted you," he replied. Her kissed her.

"That argument ended abruptly," Lily said to James.

"Yeah, I know! I always knew Sirius liked her," James replied.

"Mm, it was obvious, hey?"

"Yep."

"Oh my gosh…" Ellie whispered to Remus, "they're talking normally to each other! IT'S A MIRACLE!"

"I'll say, Ellie Belly," Remus replied. She tackled him to the floor, tickling him.

Devils Angel: With everyone friends again, they resumed to the normal school things: homework, assignments, Professor Verte's dumbness. The thing that wasn't normal, however, was Lily and James acting as though they'd been friends for years. James actually congratulated Lily for getting top marks, and Lily congratulated James for getting top marks. The rest of them found this really odd, but strangely pleasant. "Seems I might win the bet," Rachel whispered to Sirius one day, after seeing James whisper something to Lily, and her giggling.

Rachel and Sirius were an item around the school and Rita Skeeter was bullying Rachel, like the time she tipped a goblet of red cordial through her clothes. But she stopped after Lily threatened to perform a charm on her that made you mute. Rachel and Sirius were going out, but where they went out was a secret only known to them. But soon, Ellie and Remus found out their secret.

It was late afternoon when Ellie looked at her calendar in her dorm room and suddenly sprinted to Remus's room. "Remus, umm, could you come with me to the umm, library so I can umm, finish off that assignment on erm, _werewolves?" she asked, seeing some other people in the room._

"Sure, Ellie Belly," said Remus, ducking as Ellie aimed a punch at him. 

They casually walked out of the common room, then broke into a run to a statue of the Whomping Willow, throwing James's Invisibility Cloak over them as they ran. "_Whompus," said Remus frantically, tapping the statue with his wand. _

The statue moved aside and they hurtled down the passage. Remus started gasping. "Ellie," he squeaked. "Hurry up!"

"Yeah, well, it's not my fault you get like this around the full moon," grumbled Ellie. 

She squeezed her eyes shut and shrunk. As she shrank, she grew dark brown fur and a tail. 

"Where's that stupid knot?" Ellie the mouse muttered in Animagus talk as she crawled into a mess of wriggling roots at the end of the passage.

"Ah! Here it is," she squeaked, tapping a lump of tangled roots.

The roots stopped wriggling. Remus and Ellie dove into a passageway and suddenly found themselves in an old, decrepit old house: The Shrieking Shack.

"Home sweet home," said Remus.

Suddenly, he shrank, but not as small as Ellie did, grew fur and before you could say, "ARGH, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!!" Remus had turned into a hairy werewolf!

"Remus, sit down, I wanna talk to ya," squeaked Ellie.

Mouse and werewolf leapt onto a ripped sofa. "What do you reckon's going on with Lily and James?" squeaked Ellie.

"I have no idea," growled Remus. "It's like someone put a spell on them or something."

"Hey, that could've actually happened."

Remus ripped off a chunk of sofa stuffing and chewed on it. "Bah dey ac rewy frewy awe wo a saan."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Moony."

"Peh." Remus spat the stuffing out. "Sorry. But they act really friendly all of a sudden."

"I know."

"Maybe they secretly have the hots for each other!"

"Umm… yeah… maybe." 

Ellie hesitated. Should she tell Remus what Lily had told her only the night before?

"Listen, Moony… you can't tell anyone this, or it'll be my butt. Or tail."

"Erm…okay…"

Ellie took a deep breath. "Lily told me last night that she… she… has a crush on James!"

"WHAT!" roared Remus.

"Weird, eh?" said Ellie.

Suddenly, the door of the Shrieking Shack creaked open. Remus leapt off the couch, his teeth bared.

A black dog walked in, with a brown eagle perched on its back.

"Sirius??" 

The black dog froze, then turned into Sirius.

"Rachel?"

The brown eagle looked at Sirius, shrugged and turned into Rachel.

"So this is where you guys go," said Remus.

"Er, yeah," said Sirius, blushing.

Ellie grew and turned into her human form. "Cool! Sit down, we have to tell you stuff!"

So they did, and Ellie told them all about Lily's crush on James. Sirius's mouth dropped open. "What's wrong?" asked Rachel.

"Uh… this sounds really cliché, but it's true... James like Lily!!" he gasped.

They all sat there gobsmacked. Ellie suddenly had a cunning look on her face. "Well, you know what we have to do now, doncha?" she asked.

"I'm almost too afraid to ask," said Remus.

"WE SET 'EM UP!" yelled Ellie excitedly. "Okay, on the weekend when we go to Hogsmeade: we take them to the Three Broomsticks and leave them aloooone…"

A/N: PHEW!! This is a super-dooper long chapter! Anyways, please review on what you think of it so far, coz there is much more to come. **Evil laugh**


	2. Chapter 2... even more original!

Author's Note: Sorry to keep you all waiting for this chapter! But it's finally here, so read, enjoy and review, please!!  
  
~ Marauder Gals  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rachie.V.: James yawned and rolled over onto his stomach, the comfy mattress underneath him feeling like a cloud. He kept his eyes shut, glad that it was the weekend, and that his alarm wouldn't screech out at 6 a.m., making him jump two metres into the air. Suddenly, a humongous snore ripped through the air of the seventh year boys' dormitory.  
  
"SIRIUS BLACK!" James yelled into his pillow without looking up, knowing who just let rip with that snore.  
  
"Mummy, I don't wanna go to school today." Sirius replied groggily, still asleep. James got up (rather grumpily) and stormed over to Sirius' bed. He punched the figure that was buried beneath the red blankets. The figure lurched to the side, and the blankets fell to the carpet. A pale teenager of seventeen in boxers and no t-shirt suddenly opened his eyes, his black hair looking as wild as James' always was; and that was saying something. This teenager was Sirius Black, and he was not in a happy mood.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?! I WAS HAVING A DARN GOOD REST JUST THEN, AND YOU GO AND PUNCH ME! IT'S TOO EARLY FOR ME TO GET UP, DIMWIT, SO LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
  
Rachel suddenly jerked awake, a shout disturbing her slumber. It was coming from the boys' dormitory. She tumbled out of bed, her pale blue pyjamas ruffling. She quickly picked up a brush, straightened her hair in two seconds flat, made sure no one was watching her, then stumbled towards the boys' dorms, her bare feet making no sound on the soft, carpeted floor. The shouts reacher her ears more clearly.  
  
". I ONLY PUNCHED YOU COZ YOU WERE SNORING!"  
  
"SORRY FOR BREATHING! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE, IT'S TOO EARLY TO BE AWAKE ON A SATURDAY MORNING!"  
  
"IT'S NOT TOO EARLY, IT'S MIDDAY!"  
  
"EXACTLY! "  
  
"HEY!" Rachel shouted.  
  
"Rachel?" the two guys said in wonder at the same time, turning to the door.  
  
"Yay, you remembered my name," she said falsely excited, then carried on, "who do you think you are, both of you, picking a fight this early?"  
  
"Well who do you think you are, barging into the boys' dorms?" James asked.  
  
"A person who's stopping two particular people from making the whole castle wake up!" Rachel replied. James gave up; he was too tired to pick a fight with anyone else. Lily walked into the room, just then, yawning.  
  
"What's all the noise for?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing important!" all three said in unison, knowing that Lily would give a lecture for arguing about petty things.  
  
"Okay.." she replied suspiciously, then glanced at her watch. "OH NO!" she cried, "WE'RE GONNA BE LATE FOR THE HOGSMEADE TRIP!!!"  
  
Lily had spoken the magical words. Within five minutes, the whole group of friends were showered, dressed and running to the carriages before they set off.  
  
As he undid the zipper on his black jacket, Sirius grumbled about no breakfast, as they didn't have time to eat before they left; they'd grab something in a restaurant. He had a red t-shirt underneath the jacket, and his black cargo pants were baggy, complete with the black joggers. He stuck his wallet in the right side pocket, dreaming of bacon and eggs. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair that he didn't have time to brush, so he made it look like he'd stuck it up with gel, even though it looked like that when he'd woken up. It still looked good.  
  
James was wearing grubby joggers, baggy jeans and a navy shirt (long sleeves and buttons with a collar) with Nike written across the front in white writing with the famous Nike tick. He didn't need his glasses for the trip, and his hair was always messy, which made him look cute, "Just like Sirius," as Rachel would say, or, "Pretty darn ugly," as Lily would say, but everyone knew she was only teasing.  
  
Remus was going a bit more casual: a plain white t-shirt, normal joggers, khaki-coloured cargo pants.  
  
Ellie Belly shook her head; Remus couldn't look more different from Ellie who was wearing low-hanging black-purple jeans, a diamante belt strung casually across her hips, a shimmery, sleeveless purple top, leather jacket, purple bandana and big black combat boots. Watery purple eye shadow was streaked across her eyelids and her lips were coated in dark purple lippy. Silver glitter was sprinkled across her cheeks. She called it the "Purple punk" outfit.  
  
Rachel wasn't a punk, or purple for that matter, she was black and blue. Black hipster jeans that flared, a dark blue t-shirt that showed her bellybutton, dark blue trainers with black edges along the bottom, blue body glitter on her showing stomach and cheeks, pink lipgloss that wasn't bright and that made her lips appear shiny. The outfit was completed with dark blue eye shadow. Her outfit was called "Rainy Days".  
  
Lily went green. Dark green bellbottom pants, light green halter top, dark green trainers, green eye shadow. Apart from pink lipgloss and normal colours on her body, she went green. Her outfit was named "Rainforest Style".  
  
The guys hopped into a carriage, and left the doors open for the girls to get in. They looked out the door, and saw three cute teenagers charging down the stairs, across the front lawn all the way down to the carriages. Ellie got in there first.  
  
"Ellie Belly! You remind me of a flower at the rock concert!" Remus commented, helping Ellie inside.  
  
"It's the 'Purple Punk' outfit, from the Ellieucci collection," Ellie told him snootily, then giggled. Rachel came next.  
  
"Oooooooooooooooooooooh!!" gasped Sirius, helping Rachel inside, "you look stunning, baby."  
  
"My outfit is called 'Rainy Days'," Rachel said, punching Sirius on the arm gently by a sign of greeting. Lily arrived.  
  
"Hey.what's with the green?" James said, reluctantly helping Lily inside, then let go of her hand as soon as she got in, wiping it on his jeans, gagging.  
  
"It's called 'Rainforest Style', you bucket of dung," Lily snapped.  
  
"Touchy, touchy. I would have called that outfit, 'Gooey Snot'!" James laughed. Lily smacked him across the face, and then sat next to Ellie, who had Remus on her left. Sirius was next to the window opposite Remus, with Rachel next to him opposite Ellie, and James next to Rachel.which meant Lily was opposite James. They poked their tongues out at each other.  
  
Sirius got up, shut the door to the carriage, and was about to sit down again, when a knock came to the carriage door. Sirius opened it, and saw Rita Skeeter, the girl who had a massive crush on him. He groaned.  
  
"What now, Rita?"  
  
"Oh, Sirius! You look soooooooo cute.I was just wondering, would you like to join me alone in the Three Broomsticks tonight?" Rita asked, and with that, kissed Sirius on the cheek. Rachel stood up in rage.  
  
"Who do you think you are, Rita Skeeter?! That's my boyfriend you're kissing, so get your filthy lips off him!" she yelled. Rita scowled.  
  
"Get lost, you fool!"  
  
James stood up.  
  
"Rita, leave Rachel and Sirius alone! Sirius is my best friend, and he shouldn't have to take this garbage off annoying fleas like you! Get lost!"  
  
Rita giggled, leaned upwards and kissed James on the cheek. James pulled away, sickened. Lily stood up furiously.  
  
"GET YOUR LIPS OFF HIM!" Lily shrieked, the same time that James yelled, "GET YOUR LIPS OFF ME!"  
  
Rita vamoosed.  
  
Lily and James looked at each other.  
  
"I'm sorry, that wasn't any of my business.I shouldn't have yelled at her." Lily apologized. James grinned.  
  
"No problem, Lily.I'm flattered that you cared for me like that."  
  
"Believe me, I do care.I do." Lily said softly. James lowered his head a teensy bit.  
  
"That's charming to know.because I care too."  
  
"Yeah." Lily said, and leaned upwards. Their heads were millimetres away from each other.suddenly, the carriage jerked alive, and lurched away on the road to Hogsmeade. Lily and James plunged into their seats.  
  
Everyone else looked at each other, all thinking the same thing: Lily and James nearly kissed! It looked as though their plan was going to end perfectly.but they should have known better.  
  
Devils Angel: The trip was silent. Ellie and Remus were giving each other excited looks. Rachie and Sirius were completely off the topic, and were gazing into each other's eyes in a lovesick way. But it was Lily and James who were glancing at each other shyly, then looking away, blushing.  
  
Finally, the carriage stopped and everyone fell to the back. "Argh!" grumbled Lily. "Have these people heard of limousines?"  
  
"The best stuff for the best person, huh?" blurted out James.  
  
They all looked at him. He blushed, the crimson gradually spreading across his face.  
  
"Er. where do you guys wanna go?" asked Sirius, covering up the embarrassed silence.  
  
"Zonko's!" cried James.  
  
"I'm with you, James," said Sirius.  
  
"Rags to Riches!" cried Rachel. (A/N: I just made that up. It's a clothing store). "I need to get something for the Yule Ball."  
  
"I'll come with you, Rachel," said Lily.  
  
"HONEYDUKES!" roared Ellie and Remus at the same time, then laughed.  
  
"Well, since we all wanna go different places, how about we meet at the Three Broomsticks in say, fifteen minutes?" said Sirius casually.  
  
"Yep, sure," everyone said.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ooh, look at this!" cried Lily, holding up a bottle green-coloured tank top that had criss-cross straps at the back and a matching skirt. "Do you think James would like this on me? I mean..."  
  
Rachel grinned. "Go and try it on, and see."  
  
Lily grinned and disappeared into the change room. Rachel searched through the racks. She found a dark blue, strapless dress with a matching light blue feather boa. Wonder what Sirius would think? She wondered.  
  
She was about to go try it on when Lily timidly called out, "Rachel?"  
  
Rachel found Lily's dressing room and nearly dropped the dress she was carrying. The green dress looked fantastic on Lily. The top hugged her slim waist and the skirt drifted below her knees. The green drew attention to Lily's green eyes. "Wow!" cried Rachel.  
  
"Perfect fit!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What do you think will make Lily laugh?" asked James abstractedly. "I mean."  
  
Sirius couldn't help smiling. "Wait, she's not a practical joke person, is she," muttered James, and moving to a different section of the store.  
  
He looked along the shelf. There's gotta be something here that Lily will love, thought James.  
  
He reached out and pulled out a quill that wrote in shimmery colours. She'll love this, thought James. But will she love me?  
  
He shook his head, wondering why that particular thought popped into his head and looked at Sirius, who was experimenting with a bit of parchment that printed insults on it instead of what you actually wrote.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they all met at the Three Broomsticks- except for Ellie and Remus. "Gee, I wonder where they are?" wondered Sirius. "Rachie, let's go look for them."  
  
"Okay," said Rachie. "We'll be right back," she said to Lily and James.  
  
They walked out and quickly rounded a corner, where Ellie and Remus were hiding. Ellie was clutching her stomach in pain. She had eaten too much chocolate.  
  
"Hi," said Sirius. "They're in there."  
  
He pointed to where they were sitting. "Now we play the watching game," said Ellie. "Geez, I don't feel so good."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lily looked at James. "Er. what did you buy?" she asked.  
  
James pulled a thin box out of his bag. "This quill that writes in different colours," he said.  
  
Then he remembered why he'd bought. "I, uh, bought it for you," he said shyly.  
  
"Oh! Thanks!" cried Lily. "That's sweet, but I haven't bought anything for you."  
  
"That's ok," shrugged James.  
  
"No no, I'll get something. hey! I know. I'll be right back," said Lily, quickly getting up from the table.  
  
She returned after about five minutes, holding a small brown bag. "Wow, thanks," said James. "That's really nice of you."  
  
Lily smiled at him, and his insides turned to jelly.  
  
He pulled out a heart shaped box from the bag. James's mouth dropped open in surprise. Remus, Ellie, Rachel and Sirius's all dropped open too.  
  
James lifted the lid, and inside were many different coloured chocolates. "Yum, Lily, thanks heaps," he said.  
  
He picked one up and took a bite out of it.  
  
All of a sudden, his face twisted. "Argh!!" he cried. "Yuck!! This tastes like. salt!"  
  
The four around the corner gasped.  
  
Lily laughed. "I got it from Zonko's!"  
  
Despite the horrible taste in his mouth, James started laughing. Lily joined in.  
  
The four around the corner breathed out.  
  
James stopped laughing, then said, "Lily, I've got something to ask you."  
  
The four around the corner looked at each other eagerly.  
  
Lily looked at him curiously. "Sure, ask away," she said.  
  
Rachie.V.: James stood up and put on a fake accent, but still blushed as he said, "Lily, may I have the honour of being your partner for the Yule Ball?"  
  
Lily grinned, stood up, turned her back on him and said snootily, "No, you may not."  
  
James pouted. "Why ever not, madam?"  
  
Lily turned around, grinned and said, "I'm kidding, James!" She ran over to him and threw her arms around him. "I've been dying for you to ask me to the ball, but I never said a word about it, scared that you wouldn't ask me!"  
  
James grinned. "Well, you better look good, otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have to dance with someone else!"  
  
Lily looked up at him and scowled. "Who else?"  
  
"Maybe somebody by the name of.Rita Skeeter!!!" James mocked, then gave a fake cackle. Lily smacked him playfully.  
  
"You wouldn't do that, you hate her as much as I do," Lily said.  
  
"Too true, Lily," James replied. That's when he realised she still had her arms around him, and somehow, his arms had worked their way around her waist. They pulled away from each other, blushing furiously.  
  
The gang watching them had to use great self-control not to burst into giggles. Rachel and Sirius were dying to laugh so hard that they had to bite their knuckles to keep quiet, while Ellie and Remus kept their mouths shut, smiling.  
  
"Hey, Sirius, maybe we should go back in, now, since we said that we'd be right back," Rachel said quietly to Sirius, spluttering with the first few words as they were half giggles, half words. Sirius nodded, stopped biting his knuckles, snorted, put his hands over his mouth, got a whack around the back of the head from Rachel (who also hissed, "SHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!") and Remus and Ellie followed them around the corner to the door, as it was them who Rachel and Sirius were looking for. They entered with normal faces (Sirius was kept under control by the glares Rachel and Remus kept shooting at him), and Ellie said, "Sorry we're late, we kinda lost track of time. Happens all the time, in Honeydukes. Rachel and Sirius found us."  
  
James and Lily nodded, both sitting far apart form each other, blushing. Lily got up and the group followed her to Honeydukes (Ellie and Remus groaned), where a few Galleons were spent each, and then to the park, where they hung out until night descended slowly upon them. After the performance in the Three Broomsticks, James and Lily had kept away from each other and were rather quiet the whole night, replaying in their minds the special moment they had shared.  
  
The friends rested on the grass, staring at the stars, Ellie and Remus studying the different shapes that they could see, Rachel and Sirius leaning against each other while holding hands, Lily and James staying quiet. The whispers of the night breeze ruffled through Lily's hair, making it softly float around her. James noticed this and desperately tried to prevent himself from thinking how beautiful she was, but failed.considerably. He sighed softly. Why was he feeling like this?!  
  
  
  
Devils Angel: Lily was lost in her own thoughts. She gazed at the stars, but in the corner of her eye she could see James. Her heart beat considerably faster as she smiled at his floppy hair, his smile.  
  
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star," sang Sirius sleepily. "Daddy bought a motor car."  
  
Rachel giggled. "Ooh, we'd better go, it's a bit late," she said, kissing Sirius on the cheek.  
  
"And see that one, that's Ellie the insane," joked Remus, pointing to a cluster of stars.  
  
"Oh, I see, but that one's Remus the idiotic!" cried Ellie and they both cracked up.  
  
They all stood up and caught the carriage back to the castle. It bumped so forcefully along the road that everyone was bouncing around and laughing.  
  
"Whee!" yelled Rachel, flying through the air but crashing into Ellie.  
  
"Oops!" cried Lily, landing right on James's lap.  
  
They blushed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Finally, they stopped at the castle. The six of them stumbled out of the carriage and trudged up to the common room.  
  
Rachel and Sirius relaxed in front of the fireplace, talking and giggling (and kissing of course). James, Lily, Ellie and Remus were yakking away about the Yule Ball.  
  
"So who are ya going with, Lils?" asked Ellie casually.  
  
Lily grinned. "I'm going with James," she said, smiling at him and holding his hand.  
  
James was a happily surprised, but he squeezed Lily's hand. Lily blushed.  
  
What is it with these people and blushing? Wondered Remus.  
  
"Who are you going with, eh Ellie?" asked James.  
  
Ellie squirmed a bit. "Well erm ah." she muttered.  
  
"She's going with that Ravenclaw guy called Ron," blurted out Remus.  
  
(A/N: Nothing to do with Ron Weasley! It happens to be my boyfriend's name!)  
  
"Oh geez," said Ellie, embarrassed. "Well, he asked me and I said yes. I mean, he's kind of cute isn't he, Lily?"  
  
Lily grinned. "You go girl!" she said. "Hey Remus, who're you going with?"  
  
"Dunno," shrugged Remus. "Guess I'll go by myself."  
  
"Aww, come on, man, you can't go alone!" said James. "Say, I'll set ya up with. RITA SKEETER!!"  
  
"Aaaagh!" screamed Remus.  
  
They laughed. "Ahh, I'm tired," yawned Lily. "Goodnight everyone."  
  
"'Night, Lily," they said and she started walking towards her dorm.  
  
James walked after her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at him questioningly. "Um. goodnight, Lily," said James softly.  
  
He nervously leaned forward and kissed her quickly and delicately on the lips. This time it was Lily's turn to be happily surprised. She smiled, and skipped happily into her dorm. Her head was spinning and butterflies fluttered crookedly in her stomach.  
  
Remus, Ellie, Rachel and Sirius all looked at each other, eyes wide open. James kissed Lily!  
  
"A historical moment, folks," said Sirius quietly.  
  
Rachie.V.:  
  
~*~ The next day ~*~  
  
"Hey, Lily!"  
  
Lily turned around in the hallway, her bag swinging wildly. Snape was standing behind her, his greasy hair even more disgusting as usual.  
  
She sighed.  
  
"Yes, you idiot?"  
  
"You might not want to insult me once I tell you something interesting." Snape replied, grinning mischievously.  
  
"And what could you possibly know that is of any interest to me?" Lily snapped.  
  
"Well.it's about James." Snape said quietly. Lily raised her eyebrows, but stepped closer, people bustling by and knocking against her elbows.  
  
"You know how he used to be your mortal enemy, then changed his attitude way too suddenly?" he said softly, studying her face. She nodded.  
  
"Well.he's still your enemy. You only like him because he put a Love Potion in your goblet a few weeks ago!"  
  
Lily gasped, then set her face straight to hide her shock. She usually wouldn't have believed this slimeball, but it was suddenly so obvious! Feelings just can't bounce around so suddenly.  
  
Lily pretended that she didn't believe him.  
  
"Prove it," she hissed.  
  
Snape waved his wand in the air, muttered a spell that Lily couldn't hear, and an image shot out of his wand. It was James, and he was hunched over something. The view twisted and moved, so that Lily could see that he was hunched over a goblet. He was pouring something into the goblet, then he stood up, grinned, and ran away. A few seconds later, an image of Lily came into the room that was the Great Hall. She was running and laughing, then she sat down with Rachel and Ellie at the table. She drank out of the goblet that James had put the potion into. The image flickered, then went out.  
  
"So, convinced?" he asked softly. He suddenly reached out, and twisted a lock of Lily's hair around his fingers. Lily jerked backwards, sickened, and cried, "I don't know what your game is, Snape, but I do know that you're lying! Now get out of my way!" With that, she barged past, tears stinging in her eyes. She actually remembered sitting down a few weeks ago the way she had in the image, and had wondered why the drink tasted odd. She thought that maybe the house-elves had a problem with the pumpkin juice.but now she knew why it was odd. There had been a Love Potion in it. Lily wiped away her tears. She knew that Love Potions worked for exactly three weeks, and it had been three weeks since she had drunken the potion to last night. Lily was now outside her Charms classroom, and she was late. She cautiously opened the door, stepped inside and apologised to Professor Flitwick. He accepted her apology and told her to find a partner, because they were just about to start a new spell. Immediately, Rachel and Sirius sat next to each other, Remus and Ellie partnered up.which left James. Lily bit her lip, then looked at James, who smiled and beckoned her over. Anger flowed through her veins. She walked over to him, plonked her bag next to the stool, sat down and growled at James.  
  
"What's up, Lily?"  
  
"You, that's what!"  
  
"What have I done?" James was baffled by Lily's strange behaviour.  
  
"You put a Love Potion in my drink a few weeks ago!"  
  
"What?!" James cried, then kept his voice down after a warning glance from Flitwick. "What do you mean? I never did that!"  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah! Lily, didn't you realize last night that I like you a lot? I like you too much to hurt you like that!"  
  
"Snape proved it, he showed me the images through some spell! He caught you red-handed, Potter!"  
  
"So now you're believing the worst Slytherin of the lot instead of a friend?!"  
  
"It doesn't matter who I believe, but it was proved to me that you are a liar!"  
  
James scowled at Lily, then said quietly to himself, "I'm gonna get that Snape so bad he won't know what hit him!"  
  
  
  
Devils Angel: "It's so cool how Lily and James are together," said Ellie to Remus, as they walked to Potions.  
  
"I can't believe that rotten, stinking. dragon butt!!" complained Lily, coming up behind them.  
  
Remus looked at Ellie with a raised eyebrow. "I hope you're talking about Professor Verte."  
  
Lily gave a dry laugh. "I'm talking about Potter the Poo head!" she burst. "He put a love potion in my goblet!!"  
  
The two gasped. "Oh my god," whispered Ellie. "When did this happen?!"  
  
Lily tossed her hair back. "Three weeks ago I think," she said. "But I don't give a pumpkins knob. I'll go with someone else to the Yule Ball."  
  
Remus looked at her. "I can't believe how well you're taking this."  
  
Lily shrugged. "I don't care," she said. "'Life can go on without sloshing around in misery about a disgusting pig!"  
  
She stopped. "Hey, I think that stupid potion's wearing off!" she yelled gleefully.  
  
She quickened her pace and left Remus and Ellie, open-mouthed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lily hurried along the hallway, trying not to think and furiously kept back tears. I can't believe this, she thought over and over. All this time I thought I really loved him.  
  
Or do I? she wondered.  
  
It was all getting very confusing.  
  
She slumped into her chair and buried her face into her hands. She wasn't aware that James was looking at her. He couldn't stand to see her so miserable. He wanted to put his arm around her and hold her. but he knew what would happen if he did.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
After Potions, it was lunchtime. Snape was talking to Malfoy and they were both sniggering away. Remus walked past them.  
  
"The stupid bimbo actually believed that Holo Spell!" laughed Snape.  
  
Remus's eyes widened. So it had all been a trick! The Holo spell was merely a magical hologram.  
  
He broke in to a run to find James and Lily.  
  
  
  
Rachie.V.: "But I'm telling the truth, Sirius!!" Remus cried. He hadn't been able to find James or Lily, but Sirius could help him.that is, if he believed the truth.  
  
"Remus, come off it! I mean, yeah, what James did is horrible, but there's no point trying to patch it up between them!" Sirius replied, leaning against the banister of the marble staircase.  
  
"Sirius, it's true!! Would I lie to you?" Remus crossed his arms.  
  
".I guess you wouldn't - you're not like me."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"James! There you are!! Come with me," Remus said to James, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from the Quidditch pitch where he had been practicing.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Lily! There you are!! Come with me," Sirius said to Lily, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her away from the Library where she had been studying.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Remus and James bumped into Sirius and Lily on the Astronomy Tower. Lily immediately screamed and tried to attack James, but Sirius was too strong and kept a firm hold on her arm.  
  
"Lily, James, we have to tell you something." Remus started.  
  
  
  
Remus explained how Snape had framed James (while Sirius interrupted every now and then with insane comments on how Lily had reacted to certain things - such as how she used a certain spell that turned James' hair green in one particular Charms class). After Remus (and Sirius) had finished, there was a long, surprised silence.  
  
Finally, James spoke: "I told you Lily: I like you too much to hurt you like that."  
  
Lily staggered forward and broke Sirius' grip. She ran over to James, who expected to be slapped anyway, but Lily threw her arms around him.  
  
"James, I'm so, so sorry!!!" She started sobbing. "I should've trusted you!!"  
  
"Hey, no problem! Now stop crying before my robe gets soggy!"  
  
Lily replied by kissing him on the lips.  
  
  
  
Devils Angel: Sirius wolf-whistled at them. Lily rolled her eyes but said nothing.  
  
James gave Lily a hug, and they all trooped downstairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Got a jack?"  
  
Rachel grinned cheekily. "Go fish."  
  
Ellie grumbled and reached for a card. Remus, Sirius, James and Lily all climbed through the portrait hole.  
  
Remus immediately plonked himself next to Ellie, as did Sirius to Rachel, and they gave the girls the low-down.  
  
"We must take action!" cried Ellie. "Snape is such a freakin' jerk!"  
  
Rachel nodded. "What he did was seriously low," she said. "I say we get him back somehow."  
  
She casually glanced at Sirius. "You looking at me?" asked Sirius in mock surprise.  
  
Rachel grinned, kissed his cheek and said, "Reckon you boys can think of a cool prank to pull on Sleazy Snape?"  
  
Sirius smiled evilly and pulled James and Remus into a huddle.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The three boys were quiet and secretive for the rest of the day. No matter how hard the girls begged, they wouldn't tell them their plan. Actually, they hadn't finished planning it yet.  
  
It wasn't until the next morning they all found out.  
  
The group were walking early to the first lesson when James pulled them all behind a large wall.  
  
"We've thought of a plan," he said, grinning. "Remus?"  
  
Remus pointed his wand at the wall. A chart popped up, with funny diagrams and writing. The girls looked in amazement at it.  
  
"Our first step," explained Sirius, "is to make a very powerful Love Potion."  
  
He tapped his wand at a diagram, and it started moving. a hand stirring a cauldron.  
  
"Our research has found that to make a temporary spell permanent is to throw a nugget of gold in it," said Sirius.  
  
"But we're are we going to get a nugget of gold?" asked Ellie.  
  
"And since when did you guys research?" muttered Lily.  
  
"Easy peasy," grinned James. "My uncle is a gold miner, and he sent me a nugget of gold for my last birthday."  
  
"Next step," said Sirius, "is to put a drop of this concoction-"  
  
"Ooh, big word," whispered Rachel.  
  
"-into the goblet of our dear friend Rita Skeeter."  
  
Ellie rubbed her hands together. "I'm liking this," she said.  
  
"Meanwhile, we have stolen something from Snape and told him that this lovely lady has it," said Snape.  
  
He tapped his wand on a picture of a teddy bear in Rita's arms. He noticed Lily's eyebrow raised.  
  
"Yeah, he has a teddy bear," he said, keeping a straight face. "His name is Mr Booboo. Ahem! We tell Snapey-poo as soon as Rita has drunk her goblet."  
  
Sirius grinned. "James, take it away."  
  
"With pleasure, my good man," said James. "Snape walks over to Rita. the first male she sees, she falls in love with!"  
  
They laughed and cheered. "Perfect!" cried Rachel.  
  
She turned to Sirius. "I knew you wouldn't let me down," she said, and kissed him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Mwuahahahaha, what will happen to the delightful Miss Skeeter? Wait til the next chapter! Heh heh. Review! 


	3. T-Rex ate me!!!!!!!

Author's Note: Sorry to keep you all waiting for this chapter! But it's finally here, so read, enjoy and review, please!!  
  
~ Marauder Gals  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rachie.V.: "Right, I guess we've added everything to this potion, so it's all ready," Sirius yawned one early morning.  
  
"Not so fast, hotshot - we forgot the gold nugget!" Remus replied, stirring the contents of a very powerful Love Potion. Sirius grinned sheepishly.  
  
James plopped the nugget into the cauldron and everyone ducked as the potion splashed everywhere. Remus and Sirius glared at him.  
  
Suddenly, everyone heard footsteps coming close to the small, unused broom cupboard they were hiding the potion in.  
  
"Hide!!" hissed Sirius, leaping behind a crate full of Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess-Remover.  
  
Remus and James looked at each other and just got on their knees behind the massive cauldron.  
  
The door creaked open, and someone whispered, "Ooh, this place is tiny! How on earth did they fit the cauldron in?"  
  
The three guys peeked up from their hiding places.  
  
"Ellie Belly!" Remus whispered - it was still very early.  
  
"Rach, come check out the potion that James nearly coated everyone with!"  
  
"Hey Lils - SIRIUS, THAT WASN'T MY FAULT!"  
  
"SHHHHH!"  
  
"So have you finished it?" Ellie asked loudly, getting everyone's attention.  
  
"Yep," James replied, stepping back with Remus and Sirius so they could let the girls in.  
  
"Well, what's the next step?" Lily asked, closing the door after her.  
  
"This is really nice and small and cosy," Rachel whispered, cuddling up to Sirius.  
  
"We have to get some of this Love Potion into Rita's goblet, probably this breakfast," Remus said, answering Lily's question.  
  
"Yeah...and after that, we tell Snape about his teddy, then you and me have some fun," James said to Lily, grabbing her hand and pulling her close. Lily narrowed her eyes. James grinned and tickled her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey Rita, I was just wondering if you could help me with our Divination homework, since you're really good at it and everything..." Rachel began.  
  
It was breakfast, and Rita had come in early without her friends. She had just started eating when the plan was worked out: Rachel had to distract Rita while the boys put the potion in her goblet. Ellie and Lily were to tell Snape about his teddy.  
  
Rita sighed. "Okay, Rebecca - "  
  
"The name's Rachel," Rachel cringed.  
  
"Oh, yeah, whatever. Okay, the planets have to be in a certain position for you to determine what month..."  
  
Remus crept up to Rita, who had turned to the side to talk to Rachel. He poured some of the Love Potion into Rita's pumpkin juice, and crept with Sirius (who was there to save Remus if Rita saw them - Sirius was a champion at excuses) back to the cupboard, where James was waiting to hand them another goblet of the potion if needed.  
  
"Okay, thanks Rita!" Rachel interrupted the Divination freak and scampered back to her table, soon to be joined by Sirius, James and Remus, who pretended as if they had just woken up. Rita hadn't drunken out of her goblet yet.  
  
Ellie and Lily raced into the Great Hall a few moments later.  
  
"Did he buy it?" James asked anxiously.  
  
"Wait and see," Lily replied.  
  
They didn't have to wait long.  
  
The doors to the Great Hall burst open at that moment, and Snape tore in, steam almost pouring out of his ears.  
  
He stomped over to Rita, and whispered menacingly, "What have you done with my teddy?!"  
  
"Why Severus, I don't know what you're talking about!"  
  
"YES YOU DO!" Snape yelled.  
  
Rita drunk out of her goblet calmly, much to the delight of Lily, James, Rachel, Sirius, Ellie and Remus.  
  
"Snape, I mean it! I have no clue - " Rita stopped talking. A funny look washed over her face, and she stood up.  
  
"Oh Severus!" Rita cried, and flung her arms around the Slytherin, who looked horrified as she started kissing him.  
  
Laughter broke out in the hall and only six certain people knew that Rita had a Love Potion on her - a permanent one.  
  
As Snape begged people for help, Rita muffled his words with her tongue.  
  
Devils Angel: "Tada!" whispered James, Sirius and Remus.  
  
The girls laughed and clapped, as Snape struggled to break away from Rita's lips and tongue.  
  
"Let go of me you mad woman!" screeched Snape.  
  
"Oh Sevvy, you're so sex-y!" squealed Rita.  
  
Snape gave her a look of utter repulsion, and suddenly slid his eyes over to James, Lily, Remus, Ellie, Sirius and Rachel.  
  
They smiled angelically and the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.  
  
"Sevvy?" snorted Lily as they walked along.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The six were in the common room, laughing about their prank. It took a while to calm down, but the laughter started up again when they looked through the portrait hole and saw Snape walking along the hallway with Rita dragging along, holding his feet.  
  
Finally, they stopped laughing and sat silently.  
  
"Sevvy..." whispered Rachel, which start them off again.  
  
When the laughter died down, the topic was the Yule Ball. Lily was going with James again, but Remus still didn't have a date.  
  
"Oh, you'll find one, Wolfy boy," assured Ellie, putting her arm around him. "I would go with you, but yeah... you know..." She smiled at the thought of the boy in question.  
  
"It's okay," said Remus. "Maybe I'll just go by myself."  
  
Sirius's eyebrows practically popped off his head. "No way!" he exclaimed. "You have to go with someone..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was night time. Ellie tried to set Remus up with her other friends, but they already had dates. She gave him a sympathetic hug. "I could always have two dates," she grinned.  
  
Anyway, the six were ready to go to bed when James pulled Lily into a small alcove in the stair well.  
  
"I have to talk to you," he said softly.  
  
Lily's eyes widened. Does he not like me anymore? She though frantically.  
  
"Lily," he started, taking a deep breath. "I.. um... I really like you."  
  
Lily's heart did a triple somersault. "Really?"  
  
"Really really."  
  
They gazed at each other for a few seconds. James traced his fingers down Lily's arm and held her hand. "Good night," he whispered, kissing her softly on the cheek.  
  
Rachie.V.: "Do we HAVE to go dress shopping?" Sirius moaned.  
  
"DUH! What - did you think I was gonna magic up a gorgeous dress?" Rachel replied.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me." James chirped up.  
  
"Oh shut up. Shopping's more fun," Ellie snapped.  
  
"Whatever they said," Lily grinned, pointing to Ellie and Rachel.  
  
Sirius shrugged at James, who was about to shrug at Remus, but Moony was staring out the carriage window.  
  
It was the next Hogsmeade trip, and they were arguing over they wanted to do once they arrived.  
  
The girls wanted dresses for the Yule Ball.  
  
The guys wanted to go to Zonko's.  
  
An argument broke out. Remus just sighed, continuing to stare out the window as the others had their quarrel.  
  
Ellie froze, about to give James a clip on the ear.  
  
"Remus, are you okay?"  
  
"Oh, apart from the fact that I'm a werewolf, I have no partner for the ball and I'm constantly ignored? Oh yeah, I'm doing just FINE," Remus snapped back.  
  
Ellie opened her mouth, wearing a hurt expression, but just then the carriage halted and Remus leapt out.  
  
Rachel and Lily exchanged worried glances.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ohhhhh, what a day!" Lily groaned, collapsing into a chair in the common room.  
  
They had just gotten back from Hogsmeade, and the girls had bought their dresses, not to mention shoes. The guys had stocked up on prank supplies and Sirius and James were almost drunk after too many Butterbeers, but Remus (although buying some prank supplies himself) was quite preoccupied - it was a full moon. And it was the Yule Ball the next day.  
  
"I'm so worried about Remus," Ellie sighed. She had bought a long, black, one-shoulder dress with a long black skirt. She had also enchanted real purple stars to glimmer in random areas on the smooth material.  
  
"Yeah, we all are... He'll be fine, I'm sure. I mean, he has to miss the Yule Ball, I know, but it's not the end of the world," Lily replied. She had bought a very elegant but simple white dress. It had a low v-neck and it hug in just the right places. It was also short and flared out when she twirled.  
  
"Yeah. You can treat poor Moony to a dance all of his own when he's better again," Rachel suggested. She had bought a silver dress that was the same length as Lily's, but it didn't flare when she twirled. It clung to her body a little tighter, and it was made of silk.  
  
All of the girls had similar shoes - platforms with straps. Each pair had been enchanted to match whatever dress the owner happened to be wearing.  
  
At that moment, Sirius gave a groan.  
  
"What's up?" Rachel asked.  
  
"I don't feel drunk anymore," he replied sulkily. Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
"Ah, the consequences of getting drunk with Butterbeer," Ellie laughed, "You get drunk and then you stay awake for hours."  
  
James grinned. "Too right."  
  
He looked out the window. "Oh, look, Moony's on the grounds! Let's go, guys, he'll need our help."  
  
Rachel sighed. "Honestly - you guys are gonna get in hot water, one of these days! Remus can get into the Willow fine by himself. He doesn't need you to put a paw on that stupid knob! He can do it by himself."  
  
"Yeah, I know, baby, but he likes it when we come. It takes some of the pain off, and he's more sane that way," Sirius said softly, hugging his girlfriend. She gave in and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"Oh all right, but don't get too tired - I'm not dancing with anybody but you tomorrow night," she replied. The boys grinned, James waved to Lily ("OOOOOOH!" the room chorused) and they left.  
  
Devils Angel: Anyone who had happened to be walking around Hogwarts wouldn't have seen two boys make their way outside; they were hidden under James's Invisibility Cloak. However, some students looked around to see what was making all the noise...  
  
"GET OFF MY TOE," shouted Sirius as quietly as he could.  
  
"I'm not on your rotten toe," hissed James. "And shut up or the whole castle will hear us - oh crap!"  
  
Standing near the Whomping Willow was Malfoy and Snape. "How are we going to get past them?!" exclaimed Sirius, quietly.  
  
"I have an idea," something squeaked in his ear.  
  
Sirius jumped, then looked at his shoulder. It was a scruffy, brown rat. "Ellie?!" he said, thinking for a moment that it was a mouse.  
  
"No, Peter," said the rat. "I know how to get rid of those two."  
  
He leapt off Sirius's shoulder and scampered towards the two Slytherins.  
  
"I tried everything," James and Sirius heard Snape say. "I'll never get Lily to go to the ball with me!"  
  
"Wha-a-a-a-at?!" whispered James.  
  
"I know what you should do," said Malfoy. "I think you should- AAAAH!"  
  
Peter had bitten him on the ankle. James and Sirius tried not to laugh as they heard Malfoy scream shrilly. "A RAT! A DIRTY, DISGUSTING RAT!" he squealed.  
  
"It's just a stupid rat," spat Snape. "It- EEEEEHHH!!"  
  
Peter had now somehow climbed up Snape's trousers. "DON'T MOVE!" yelled Malfoy, as Snape shook his legs around in a strange sort of dance.  
  
"Shake it, Snapey!" whispered Sirius, making James's eyes water in laughter.  
  
Peter scrambled out of the waistband of Snape's trousers and scampered off out of the forest. "GET HIM!" roared Snape and they ran after the rat. Sirius transformed into a dog and tapped the knot in the Whomping Willow.  
  
Once inside, they laughed and laughed and laughed, tears rolling down their cheeks. "Funny huh?" asked a voice.  
  
It was Peter, still as a rat. "I lost them," he said, "and I got here before the statue closed up."  
  
Sirius and James looked at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Sirius.  
  
"I think I am," grinned James. "Peter, we'll be right back. Wait here."  
  
They darted down the passage. "What was Snape on about, not going to the ball with Lily?!" growled James.  
  
"Wouldn't have a clue," said Snape. "Hey, you were thinking that we should let Peter in our group- right?"  
  
"Yeah," said James. "Great minds think alike."  
  
They reached the Shrieking Shack, where they saw Remus chewing on a chair. "Hey Moony," said Sirius.  
  
"Hi," said Remus glumly.  
  
James galloped over to him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Ellie was really worried."  
  
Remus sighed. "All right, do you really want to know?"  
  
"Yes!" cried James and Sirius together.  
  
Remus opened his mouth, but instead he sighed and muttered, "Never mind."  
  
"Oh come on, Moony - you can tell us," said Sirius hopefully.  
  
Remus shook his head. "No... I can't. Look, forget about it. I'll sort it out."  
  
James looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
The moon disappeared behind a thick, black cloud, and he turned back into a human again. "Hey Remus, let me introduce you to Peter..." said James as they walked down the passage.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"PETER PETTIGREW??" Ellie exploded at breakfast the next morning. "That fat, dumb, weird, try-hard LOSER?!"  
  
"Shhhh!" hissed James.  
  
"I'm with Ellie," said Lily defiantly. "Well, sort of. Peter Pettigrew doesn't belong in our group!"  
  
"Oh come on," whined Sirius. "You're okay with it, aren't you Rach?"  
  
He looked at her, his eyes big and puppy-like.  
  
"Ohh... don't look at me like that!" she squealed.  
  
After more yelling and arguing, the girls finally agreed to let Peter into the group.  
  
The table was quiet (except for the sound of munching).  
  
Then...  
  
"Hey Ellie," said a voice.  
  
Ellie turned around. It was Ron. "Oooooooh!" everyone chorused.  
  
"Hi," she said. "Ignore the weirdos."  
  
"I was wondering, are we still going to the Yule Ball together?" he asked.  
  
Ellie smiled. "Yeah, definitely... see you there."  
  
As Ron walked away, Remus suddenly got up from the table, muttered "Excuse me" and ran off.  
  
Ellie's eyes widened. "Remus! Wait!" she yelled and ran after him.  
  
"Well, well, well," said a horribly familiar voice behind them.  
  
It was Snape, with Rita Skeeter holding onto him. "Hello, Lily," he said. "Could you come with me for a moment?"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "No," she said. "As if I'd want to."  
  
"I need help with homework..." said Snape sadly. "I just can't understand it! It's so hard! And since you're the smartest girl in Gryffindor..."  
  
Lily sighed. "Okay, whatever," she said. "But we'd better be quick."  
  
She got up and left the table. James had a strange, sneaking suspicion about what Snape was going to do. Suddenly, his desperate-sounding words rang through his head... "I tried everything... I'll never get Lily to go to the ball with me!"  
  
James gasped. "Gotta go," he said abruptly, and ran after Lily.  
  
Rachel and Sirius looked at each other. "Guess it's just you, me and breakfast," shrugged Sirius, eating his cornflakes.  
  
Rachie.V.: "So all you have to do is just wave your wand like this, and then you'll - Snape, are you listening to me?" Lily waved a hand in front of Snape's face. He was staring at her with a weird look in his eyes.  
  
"Wha'?" he asked stupidly. "Oh, yeah, um, Lily, I, ah - um..."  
  
Lily raised her eyebrows.  
  
Snape cleared his throat and started again. "Lily, I just wanted to ask you a favour. Well, it's not a favour...or you could call it one. No, it isn't a favour, since you don't really have to do anything for me. No, wait, then again, you do, in a way, if you look at it from my point of view, or yours..."  
  
"Just spit it out, already!" Lily said, exasperated.  
  
"Okay, okay. Will you go to the - "  
  
"LILY!" James sprinted up the corridor. He reached Lily, grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the Great Hall, where Sirius was balancing a cornflake on his nose.  
  
"What did you do that for?" Lily snapped. "He looked like he needed to ask me something important!"  
  
"Important my ar - I mean, backside. Lily, he was trying to ask you to the ball."  
  
Lily stared in horror at him for a few seconds, then: "EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! GROSS OUT!!!!" she squealed at the top of her lungs. The Great Hall stared. Mrs Norris ran away with her fur on end, a mouse dangling in her mouth.  
  
Lily grinned sheepishly at the other people, and Sirius started a wheezing attack as his balancing cornflake got stuck in his nostril and cut of his breathing. Rachel leaned over on her chair, changed her mind and took out her wand instead. Sirius shook his head frantically, then took a deep breath through his mouth, pressing the free nostril closed. He aimed, held his other finger next to the clogged nostril, blew out through his nose quickly and flicked his finger. The cornflake went flying through the Hall, and people watched it, like the spectators of a tennis match. It hit its target: Snape, who had just sat down in shame. The Hall burst out laughing and applauded Sirius. He stood up, bowed and, to his delight, received a detention.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sixtieth this month!" Sirius grinned, waving around his detention note, walking to class. "If I keep it up, I could break Derrick the Dropout's record!"  
  
Rachel rolled her eyes. Lily sighed. James bit his lip. Snape walked up from behind and secretly put a curse on Lily. Ellie decided-  
  
Wait, Snape put a curse on Lily? Yep, he had just put a curse on Lily: the clone curse. He had played with her mind, and now whenever she saw Snape, she saw James instead. Just for a bit of fun, Snape decided to make Lily see James as he already was, to create a lot of confusion.  
  
This is gonna be one hell of a ball, Snape thought to himself. He turned around and walked the other way, so as not to trigger the curse already. Nobody noticed anything.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Has anybody noticed how we never saw Snape at all today?" Sirius enquired that night in the Common Room, just before they felt they should begin getting ready.  
  
Probably feeling shameful because of the whole Lily deal, James thought.  
  
Remus shrugged, and continued reading. His book was upside down. Sirius raised his eyebrows at the werewolf.  
  
"Moony, wassup? Are you okay?"  
  
"No," came the answer.  
  
"Didn't think so. Look, I'm sure you'll get a date at the last minute!" Sirius replied brightly.  
  
Remus snorted, lowered his book and Sirius stepped back at the look on his face.  
  
"I won't get a date. I don't feel like going to the damn ball. GOT IT?" he said icily. Sirius gulped.  
  
Just then, a girl from their year walked through the portrait hole. She had a sad look on her face. Sirius got an idea.  
  
"Hey, Emily!"  
  
"The name's Emma," the girl replied gloomily.  
  
"Right, sorry, but hey, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, pretending to be concerned.  
  
"My date for the ball just got a curse from a damned Slytherin, and ended up in the Hospital Wing. He can't come tonight, and all the guys are taken up!"  
  
"Not all of them," Sirius replied with a grin.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mm, hun, you look cute!" Sirius grinned, taking Rachel's arm in the Common Room. The girls had gotten into their dresses, strapped on their shoes and done their hair in elegant styles. Rachel slapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"One of the few times I've ever worn a dress, and ever will do, so don't push it," she replied.  
  
"Hey, you're gonna have to wear a dress at our wedding," Sirius replied mischievously.  
  
"Of course I'll wear a dress then, but - oy, wait a sec! What do you mean, our wedding?!"  
  
While that argument continued, Emma came walking down the stairs. She was dressed in a deep, royal red dress. It was long, tight fitting and had a plunging neckline. She took Remus' arm, who blushed, then got over it quickly and shot an angry look at Sirius, who had set the pair up.  
  
Ellie walked down the stair then, and took Ron's arm. Remus looked at her wistfully. Ellie caught his glance and he looked away, trying to control his jealousy.  
  
Devils Angel: James paced anxiously across the carpet. "Where's Lily?" he hissed.  
  
"There she is," said Rachel, pointing.  
  
Lily was at the top of the stairs. Her white dress was now adorned with small, green emeralds. She grinned, and started descending the stairs.  
  
James gasped, and tried not to make his knees wobble so much. Suddenly, he tripped backwards over a foot rest. His friends burst out laughing, and Lily reached out to help him up.  
  
They took a good look at each other. James was wearing a navy blue cloak. His glasses were sitting on the middle of his nose. His hair was just as messy as usual, Lily noticed with a grin.  
  
Lily's hair was in a sleek bun, with some tendrils dangling off it. Her eyes seemed more green than usual.  
  
"Let's go!" said Ellie eagerly, and they all started walking down to the Great Hall.  
  
On the way, they saw Snape trying to shake off the still-infatuated Rita Skeeter off his leg. "Go away!" he snapped.  
  
"Oh Sevvy, you look LOVELY!" squealed Rita, who was wearing a shocking pink dress with the lowest neckline in the history of the universe but a hem so short it was probably 10cm in length from her hips, and glittery pink high heels.  
  
Snape was wearing a murky green cloak, and his hair seemed to be shinier than ever. It seemed he had put hair gel over his oily locks.  
  
They walked quickly past him, laughing. Lily was fixing her hair as they went past Snape and Rita, and hadn't seen him. (Phew!)  
  
The castle was buzzing with noise, and people were walking around with their partners. "Hi!!!!" said Peter Pettigrew, who sort of appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"Hi Peter," said Sirius. "No partner?"  
  
"Nah," said Peter, and walked with them.  
  
James nudged Remus meaningfully. They started walking again; laughing, and talking. Except for James and Lily, who only seemed content with looking at each other. As they walked down the stairs that went to the Great Hall, Ellie tripped on the last couple. "Stupid sandals," she said crossly. "I told you I should've worn boots."  
  
They laughed, and Ron helped her up. Remus forced himself to look at Emily.  
  
"DONG!" donged the clock.  
  
Dumbledore stumbled onto the stage. "Good evening everybody," he said. "I hope you enjoy tonight's Yule Ball."  
  
Everybody cheered, and a small band on the stage started up a song.  
  
"So, Lily, do you...um... do you want to dance?" stuttered James.  
  
Lily smiled. "I'd be honoured," she said, taking his hand.  
  
He led her out on the dance floor, trying to ignore the others who were watching them eagerly.  
  
James held Lily close to him, nervously put his arm around her waist and held her other hand. They said nothing.  
  
"Let's dance!" cried Sirius, dragging Rachel out onto the floor.  
  
He wiggled his hips and waved his hands in the air. Rachel laughed, and they started dancing properly.  
  
Peter was gulping down huge mouthfuls of punch and didn't really see anything.  
  
"Wanna dance?" asked Emma to Remus.  
  
"Um... yeah... okay," said Remus.  
  
They went onto the dance floor. Emily accidentally stepped on Remus's toe.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!" howled Remus as Emma's pointy shoes pierced through his shoe.  
  
"Sorry, Remus," said Emma sadly. "I'm not a very good dancer."  
  
"You know what..." said Remus. "I think I'll go sit down."  
  
He sat on a bench, massaging his foot and couldn't help watching Ellie talking and dancing with Ron.  
  
James parted from Lily. "Can we go get some punch?" he asked. "I'm a bit thirsty."  
  
"Sure," said Lily.  
  
Holding her hand in his, he lead Lily over to the table with finger-food and punch. They sipped their cups quietly, and tried to talk to Remus. He didn't reply, and instead sighed and tried to dance with Emma again.  
  
Anna, who was in sixth year, approached James shyly and asked, "Do you want to dance?"  
  
James looked at Lily. She shrugged and smiled. "I don't mind," she said.  
  
Anna grabbed James's hand eagerly and they went to another end of the room to dance.  
  
Lily downed the rest of her punch. When she lowered her cup, she saw James standing in front of her.  
  
"That was quick," said Lily.  
  
"Er... yes, it was," said ... Snape! "Let's go dance."  
  
He led her out onto the dance floor. After a few seconds, Snape said crossly, "Geez, Lily, you can't dance for nuts!"  
  
Lily looked taken aback. "Sorry... does it matter?" she asked.  
  
"Like hell it does," Snape snarled. "You have the co-ordination of a one legged duck!"  
  
Lily's mouth gaped open. "James, what is with you?"  
  
"I'll tell you what's with me!" cried Snape. "I'm dancing with maybe the ugliest girl I've ever seen in my life, who has a dress that looks like it's decorated in SNOT!! I don't deserve this. God, I could do so much better..."  
  
He pushed Lily away, whose eyes were brimming with tears, and stormed off to the other side of the Great Hall. "Heh heh heh!" he cackled, and undid the curse.  
  
The real James returned from dancing with Anna, and found Lily sitting on a seat, crying. "Lily, are you all right?" he said softly, putting his arm around her.  
  
Lily violently threw his arm off her shoulder and stood up. "I can't believe you!" she screamed above the music.  
  
She pulled James up and slapped him - hard- across the face.  
  
"Believe it or not, Snape was right!" she hissed angrily. "You are still my enemy. Why I fell in love with you, I would not have a clue. James Potter, I hate you!"  
  
She stormed out of the hall. 


End file.
